Flirtin' With Disaster
by Fenris242
Summary: Sequel to A Planned Delay...Cameron has decided to throw House a party...who better to ask for assistance than Skylar and the gang? Oddly enough, House has a little favor of his own to ask of his dear sister...up'd the rating due to a naughty word
1. Help?

**A/N: okay, i know i'm supposed to be updating my other fics, but i just can't get this one out of my head...i'm having writer's block in everything else i try to write but this...i'm taking that as a sign...so here it is...a sequel to _A Planned Delay_ ...i don't think its essential that you read that fic before this one...but it will help enormously if you plan on understanding this one...i already have a couple chapters written for this (what? i said it's been hammering nails attached to notes into the side of my head for a couple days now, didn't i?)...please let me know what you guys think, and also what you think should happen...not that i'll write it that way, but it usually gives me great ideas...so please read and review...**

** -Fen**

* * *

"Hello?" The now familiar female voice came across the phone line.

"Hi. It's Allison." Cameron replied.

"Hey. How've you been?"

"Great."

"And my brother's…?" Skylar asked.

"He's fine." Cameron replied to the non-question.

"He's being good I hope."

"I keep him in check." There a momentary pause. Then Cameron continued, "I was kinda hoping you could help me out. You see, House's-"

"His birthdays coming up and you wanna throw a party. Just don't have the means or know who to really invite?" Skylar interrupted.

"You're good."

"Runs in the family." She commented. "Besides, I was hoping you'd call. I never had a sister to help plan something like this before."

"You realize we're not married, right?" Cameron asked.

"Yeah. But you're way cooler than Stacy. I'd never have called her my sister." Skylar replied. She heard a soft chuckle on the other end of the phone. "I hate making plans over the phone. I'll come down on Saturday and we'll go shopping. Sound good?" Skylar offered.

"I don't have anything planned."

"Good. It'll be a girls' day out. Where should I pick you up at?"

"What?" Cameron asked, confused by the question.

"That was my subtle way of asking if you were living with my big brother yet." Skylar replied, with a smile on her face.

"Sorta. I mean, most of my stuff is at his place, but it hasn't been official yet. I still have my apartment."

"Honey, if you're waiting for my brother to ask you to move in, you got another thing coming. It just ain't gonna happen. Terminate your lease, and tell him you're moving in. As much as he likes to have control, he loves it more when it's taken away." Skylar stated. "See ya Saturday."

"Okay. Oh, what time?" Cameron asked.

The line was silent. She figured Skylar must have hung up. Just as she was about to do the same, a reply came over the phone. "I did say we'd make a day of it. I'll be there bright and early."

"Six?" Cameron asked, thinking of the time she usually got up. Even on the weekends when all she wanted to do was sleep.

"What? You're lucky if I'm asleep by six." Skylar scoffed. "Early is like two. In the afternoon." She laughed. "You need to learn how to sleep in. Greg's a good teacher. He's great at it."

* * *

"Sky, it's me. Call me back. You know the number." Skylar listened to the message on her cell, knowing precisely who it was. She scrolled through the numbers in her phone. "There you are." She whispered when she found the number she was searching for. She pressed the button to connect.

Ringing. Ringing. Ringing. "Damn it. Pick the little black thing up. Flip it open and talk. How complicated is that?" Skylar asked, as she waited for the phone to be answered.

"'Ello?" A groggy voice said.

"You called." Skylar replied.

"Huh?" The voice came over the line.

"You called earlier. Told me to call you back."

Waking up fully, the voice realized who was on the other end. "Yeah. I called around midnight. It's three in the morning."

"Hey, I'm just doing what your message said. I just got it now." Skylar replied.

"Can't you call back later? When I'm actually awake."

"No, cause by then _I'll_ be asleep. Unlike some people, I'm unable to hold a conversation and through snappy remarks out there when I'm asleep." She replied.

"Hold on."

Skylar listened as she heard shuffling, a muffled female voice, and then the groggy voice again, which was more awake sounding now, "No. Sleep. I'll be right back." A few seconds later, she heard glass hitting what she assumed was a counter, and the liquid being poured. "You there?" The voice said.

"You really shouldn't be drinking this late."

"It's iced tea. Get off my ass."

"Excuse me. You're my brother, that's gross to even think I'd be on your ass." Skylar remarked.

"Enough of your painfully horrible wit this early in the morning." House replied.

"To business." Skylar said.

"To business." House reiterated. "I was hoping you could help me out with something."


	2. Girls' Day Out

"Afternoon." Cameron greeted, opening the door to the home she shared with House.

"Hey." Skylar replied. "I don't remember this place being so…cheery."

"That's all Cameron." House said, from his seat on the couch. He was intently staring at the TV where Skylar could see he was playing a video game.

Cameron turned just as House killed a deadite with the chainsaw. "Oh, gross. Turn it off." She said, turning back to Skylar.

Skylar wasn't paying much attention; she was more focused on the TV screen. "No, you gotta wait 'til she's recharging without the force field. That's when you shoot her with the boomstick." Skylar walked further into the room and hopped over the back of the couch to sit next to her brother.

"You gotta rub in the fact that I can't do that." House said, glancing at sister.

"It's not the only thing you can't do." She replied, stealing the controller and proceeding to kill the level boss. "See, I told ya. You gotta wait 'til she's recharging. Don't worry about the deadites when she's firing. Sam'll get them. Just dodge her attacks. Your turn." Skylar said, choosing not to save the game and return to the last save point.

"You play those games?" Cameron asked, when Skylar joined her in the kitchen.

"Hell yeah. _Evil Dead: Regeneration_ is a game I can play a thousand times over." Skylar paused, reaching into the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water. "Ready?" She asked.

"More than you can imagine. I've been dealing with that all morning." Cameron replied, heading for the door. She grabbed her purse and keys.

"Oh, you don't need those. I'm driving." Skylar said..

"Oh. Okay. You got your purse?" Cameron asked.

"Right here." Skylar replied, grabbing the chain on her right side, effectively pulling the wallet out of her back pocket.

Cameron smirked. "We're leaving. See ya later."

"Yeah." House replied, not turning to see them off. He was trying to kill the level boss as Skylar had instructed him too.

"Watch out for the—nevermind." Skylar said, as her advice was a couple seconds too late. The two ladies exited the room just as House was letting the four-letter words fly from his mouth.

* * *

Cameron picked up a blouse from the rack as she and Skylar discussed their ideas about a party for House. "No." Skylar said. Cameron turned and looked at her. She couldn't believe Skylar wouldn't allow the party to be at her place. "Try this one." Skylar said, pulling out a different blouse.

"That's a little flashy, don't you think?" Cameron replied, momentarily forgetting the question.

"Just try it on." Skylar insisted. "And yeah. It would be the easiest for it to be at my place. I'm sure the boys won't mind. We all love a reason for a party. Besides, my place is bigger than Greg's. And it'll be easier to decorate and setup everything. He won't be wondering why you're hiding things under the sink."

"Like he'd ever look under the sink." Cameron scoffed.

"True. Very true." Skylar replied. "Alright. Time to try on our picks." Skylar said, heading for the changing rooms.

The two had armfuls of clothes from the racks.

Twenty minutes later, Skylar emerged from the changing rooms first. She handed the items she didn't want to the attendant and waited for Cameron.

Cameron came out and did the same as Skylar, handing her items to the attendant.

"I see you decided to get the one I picked out." Skylar commented.

"You were right. It looked fabulous."

After making their purchases, they walked outside and placed their bags in the backseat of Skylar's Mustang. "What happened to your Jeep?" Cameron asked.

"At the shop. She's doing this funny thing where she only starts when she wants to. Testy thing." Skylar replied. "So, I was forced to take my other ride." She made sure the bags were secure and wouldn't blow out since she had the convertible roof down, then hopped over the door and landed in the driver's seat.

"Anyone ever tell you that you act like one of the guys?" Cameron asked, observing Skylar, as she opened the car door and sat down in the seat.

"Anyone ever tell you that you that your lack of personality is a real downer?" Skylar shot back, taking offense to the comment. Cameron was taken back by the comment and somewhat hurt by it. "Not so nice when the shoe's on the other foot?" Skylar asked, rhetorically. "I've never been a girly girl and take pride in that. I like my toys. I treat them well, and most of the time they treat me well." She said, referring to the car. "If I enjoy entering her by hopping over the door, there shouldn't be a need for a comment about my actions."

Cameron arched an eyebrow and turned her head slightly. She'd never met anyone like Skylar. She was definitely like her brother, but at the same time, the complete opposite. She made hurtful comments to teach a lesson, but then explained her reasoning. Opening up for a moment.

* * *

"This place has great drinks, and even better music." Skylar said, parking her Mustang. The two got out and made their way to the front. "Reservations for House." Skylar said.

"Reservations?" Cameron asked.

"I'm always prepared." Skylar replied.

Cameron took back her earlier thought about Skylar being like her brother.

"Is your third running late?" The maitre d asked.

"Must be." Skylar said, looking around, having expected her company to be there already. "We'll just grab a seat at the bar. Let us know when he's here." Skylar replied, and pulled Cameron along to the bar.

"I thought we were going to talk about the party. Why did you invite House?" Cameron asked.

"I didn't." Is all Skylar said.

* * *

"Sorry to keep the two of you waiting."

Skylar turned around at the sound of the familiar voice. "Glad you could make it. Can't plan a surprise party if the best friend isn't involved." Skylar said, giving Wilson a hug. "Let's grab a seat."

Once the trio was seated and drinks were ordered, Wilson started, "May I begin with, the less I know the better. He's just going to milk it out of me eventually anyway. He always does."

"You need to learn how to say this very simple sentence. No means no." Skylar said.

"The only problem is House doesn't take no for an answer. Sure he walks away with a grumble, but he eventually comes back with a plan, and get the information he wants." Wilson argued.

"Then lie." Skylar said.

"Yeah. Easier said than done. He can always tell." Cameron chimed in.

"Then you're just not doing it right." Skylar replied. "Now, can we at least get some of the plans hammered out."

After the meals were served and partially eaten, the three had come up with a pretty decent plan. They'd have the party on a Saturday night and disguise it as another game night at Skylar's. Cameron had enjoyed herself the couple of times that she and House had gone, so it wouldn't seem odd that she'd insist on going this time. Skylar agreed, without argument, to take care of the invitations. She knew everyone that House would want there, and told Cameron she'd need the addresses for Cameron's family so she could invite them. Cameron said emailing them would be easier than writing them all down.

Skylar wanted to make the food for the party, but Cameron said it would be easier to have it catered. Reluctantly, Skylar agreed. "But if it's going to be catered, we're going with a place that I pick. A friend of mine makes some of the greatest food you've ever eaten. She's just now trying to get into catering parties, and this would be perfect for her. I'll get everything worked out and let you know what the damage is. I'll cover half the bill." Skylar said.

"No, you shouldn't." Cameron tried, unsuccessfully to argue.

"He's my brother. I'm not going to let you pay for everything."

"You're already having the party at your place. That's enough."

"Fine." Skylar agreed, but made a mental note to have her friend make up a fake bill for half of the amount.

As the plates were taken, and the three decided to head out, Cameron walked out in front of Skylar and Wilson. Skylar leaned in close to Wilson, causing him to stop walking. "There's a way around talking with Greg and not letting the cat out of the proverbial bag, but not now. I'll call you later with the details." Skylar said, then picked up her pace so she could catch up to Cameron.


	3. How to Train Greg House

"Anything interesting?" Damien asked once Skylar was home. He was digging through the bags of her purchases.

"Don't you mean, did I buy anything for you?" Skylar asked, dropping her messenger bag and tossing her keys inside.

"Yeah. What else?" Damien replied. Letting a short moment of silence pass, he asked, "So, what's up with the party?"

"We're having it here in about a month. I told Cameron I would take care of the invitations, so I bought some while we were out. She's going to send me the addresses for her family." Skylar replied, grabbing a glass from the cabinet. She set the glass on the counter and dropped a couple ice cubes in it before filling it with Johnnie Walker Black Label.

"Who are you gonna invite? It's not like Greg has that many friends." Damien replied.

"I figured I'd invite her family, a couple of people that he works with, obviously a couple of our friends – it is a party – and I guess mom and dad." Skylar replied, not really wanting to invite her parents since she wasn't on good terms with either of them, but they were still her parents.

"Sounds good." Damien replied, taking a sip of her drink while she put the bottle away.

* * *

"Buy anything for me?" House asked as Cameron entered his condo and set her bags down on the couch.

"No. It was a girls' day out." Cameron replied, ignoring the fact that he was still digging through her bags.

"Any particular reason my sister came all the way here to go shopping?" House asked. He was trying to milk her for information that he knew he wouldn't get. He knew they were up to something. Skylar wouldn't just be dropping by to go shopping for no reason. He knew there was no sense in asking his sister. She'd never talk.

"Not really. We talked the other day and decided to go shopping today." Cameron replied.

"You two talk?" House asked, not really knowing that Cameron and his sister were sharing phone calls.

"Occasionally. It's not an everyday thing." Cameron said nonchalantly as she grabbed the bag from House and started to pull objects out and show off her purchases.

"I take it Victoria's Secret wasn't on your list of places to hit." House said, noting that none of the clothes were revealing, or for his enjoyment.

"I'm not going to go shopping for lingerie with your sister." Cameron replied. She picked up the bag and headed for the bedroom to put her purchases away.

As soon as she was behind a closed door, House pulled out his cell phone and dialed the familiar number.

"Cameron must have a good influence on you. You never used to call me this much." Skylar said, answering her phone.

"So what did the two of you talk about?" House said.

"Oh, don't get your panties in a bunch. I didn't mention anything. Besides, we were too busy shopping." Skylar replied.

"What is he saying?" House asked, as he could hear Damien shouting something in the background.

"He wants to know when you guys are gonna come for game night again." Skylar said.

"Hopefully not anytime soon." House replied. "I need you to keep your mouth shut."

"Yeah, yeah." Skylar replied. "Talk to ya later."

House snapped his phone shut.

* * *

"Did you need any additional help with the party?" Wilson asked, as Cameron entered the elevator and the doors closed.

"Skylar and I have almost everything covered. The hard part is going to be keeping it from House." Cameron replied.

"Yeah. He can very persuasive when he wants to be." Wilson admitted.

Cameron turned to the oncologist. "Please don't let anything out." She pleaded.

"Skylar gave me some hints on how to keep him out of my hair." Wilson replied.

"Good." Cameron said, as the doors opened to the second floor. Both doctors exited the elevator and made for their own departments and offices.

Cameron was still working for House even though they were seeing each other. Cuddy had okayed the relationship as long as her position as his employee was temporary. House was supposed to be interviewing replacements, but hadn't started yet. Once he had a suitable replacement, Cameron would be moved to another department. House was putting that move off for as long as he could.

Cameron walked into the conference room and dropped her bag at her desk before going over and starting a pot of coffee.

House watched her from his office. As much as he hated getting in to work this early, she was the reason he did it. Ever since they had started seeing each other, he enjoyed just sitting in the dark in his office and watching her do her daily routine. She would make the coffee, then return to her desk. Opening up her laptop, she'd go through her own email before walking back over and grabbing a cup of coffee. Most mornings, she would also grab a second cup, the red one, and bring it in to him. At which point he would quickly make it look like he was busy doing something, but she knew he wasn't. He knew that she knew that he wasn't busy, but both pretended not to know that other knew.

Today was one of those days that she brought a cup of coffee into him. Breaking from his own routine of continuing to watch her, he got up out of his chair and walked out onto the balcony. He looked across and saw that Wilson was in his office. He contemplated going over and bugging his friend but decided against it. "Too early." He whispered under his breath, as his gaze turned back out over the hospital landscape and into the streets of Princeton.

* * *

"Hey, thanks for the addresses. I'm planning on getting the invitations out tonight. I have everything organized and I'm going to print the invites out tomorrow at the shop." Skylar said into her cell phone.

"Sounds good. I haven't told anyone at work, so I'm hoping that you made sure it says surprise party inside." Cameron replied.

"Got it covered. I think it's going to be a real surprise." Skylar said, hoping that her brother wouldn't figure out what they were planning.

"I talked to Wilson. He said he wouldn't let it out."

"I talked to him too. I think he'll be fine. I gave him a couple pointers." Skylar said, trying to relieve some of Cameron's stress. "I might not lie to my brother, but there isn't a single person that I know who can lie to him better. Don't worry."

"I'm not. It's just coming up faster than I had thought it would. We're only a month away." Cameron said.

"Yeah. Speaking of that. You guys need to come down this weekend. This way we can do the setup for the party."

"Do you think it's too soon? Coming this weekend, gives him a month to come up with a reason why we can't come back down for the party."

"Yeah. But that's why you're there. You can squash anything he comes up with simply by saying, no."

"Like that'll really work." Cameron stated.

"Honey, you need to train him. I know you understand that you'll never change him, but that doesn't mean that he can't be trained. It's like a dog. You'll never change the personality of a dog. You'll never stop him from digging in the trash and ripping it to shreds, but you'll train him to know that when he does, he's going to get an ass beating for it. It's that fear of an ass beating that will cause the dog not to go in the trash. It's not that he won't do it, he'll just think twice about it." Skylar replied.

"You're suggesting that I beat your brother every time he does something that he shouldn't?" Cameron asked, more than a little confused.

"If you did that, the boy would never be able to sit down." Skylar said, with a laugh. "No, you have to make it subtle. So he doesn't even notice that he's being trained. You need to play on the fact that he loves you. Because he loves you, he'll do things to make you happy. So when he says you're going to have to skip game night because he wants to have poker night, you say something like, 'You can play poker there.' You see it's subtle. He's still getting what he wants, and you get what you want. If he still pushes, that's when you play the love card. Say something about wanting to spend time with him, and you can't do that if he's playing poker with the boys. It's horrible, but you have to play dirty like he does in order to beat him." Skylar finished her lesson.

"Just when I thought there wasn't a person on earth that could be more manipulating than Greg, you say that." Cameron replied, with a chuckle.

"I just want you to know what you're getting into when you're involved with someone in this family." Skylar replied, with a chuckle of her own. "You'll have to talk to Damien when you guys come over. He can give the real inside scoop. He's been part of the family for…well…a really long time." Skylar said, not able to count the years quickly in her head.

"I might just have to do that."

"Speaking of the devil himself, I'm being paged. He's stuck in the courtyard. Remind me to tell you the story behind this one when you come this weekend."

"Okay." Cameron said, hanging up her phone. She immediately cursed when she realized that she had agreed for them to go to game night. "Damn it. I wonder if there's treatment for being too manipulative." She pondered.


	4. Five Middle Fingers

**A/N: big thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far...i'm just now getting caught up on my replies...i hope you guys like this chapter...i've gone right into game night, but have skipped over the games, since house and cam are the only ones that are there...if you guys would like me to include games in later chapters, please let me know by leaving feedback or pm'ing me...i'm always interested in what you guys have to say...thanks again for the feedback, and as always, please leave some for this chappie too...**

**-Fen**

* * *

"I'll get it!" Skylar yelled as she appeared from the hall leading into the bedrooms – Death Row. She walked over and opened the door to find her brother and his girlfriend standing there. "What? No pranks?" Skylar asked, in reference to the last time the two had showed up for game night in which her brother led her to believe that he and Cameron had split up.

"Not as much fun the second time around." House replied, and walked into the home as his sister stepped aside.

Skylar led them into the living room, having instructed them to toss their coats on the chair just inside the door. "Greg, hopefully you remember the boys." Skylar said referring to the two guys in the room that didn't live with Skylar. "But I don't think you've met them yet Allison." Skylar said, grabbing Cameron by the arm and dragging her over to be introduced. "Hey." She said, jabbing the taller one in the side, getting both men's attention.

"Yo. No need for poking." He turned around and smiled when he saw Cameron standing there, "Don't think we've met." He added, trying to put on his A game.

"Knock it off. She's Greg's girl." Skylar said, swatting the guy in the arm. "Allison, this is Slayton." She said, motioning to the taller guy. "And this is Dominick. Most of us call him Dom, but feel free to call him shit-for-brains."

"Haha." The shorter guy said, extending his hand to Cameron. "Nice to meet you. We've heard great things about you." Cameron blushed slightly at the fact that they had been talking about her. Noting her sudden change in complexion, Dom continued, "We were curious as to what kind of girl would date Greg. That is what kind of girl in her right mind." Cameron laughed lightly and smiled at the comment.

"Okay, enough pawing." Skylar said, breaking up the conversation. "Why don't you go over and grab yourself a drink while we get the first game set up?" Skylar suggested.

Cameron took the cue and walked to the kitchen to grab a drink. House was already in there, pouring himself a scotch. "You've now officially met 'The Fingers.'" House said, as Cameron stood next to him, pouring her drink.

"The fingers?" She asked, not sure what the statement meant.

"You've never heard of us?" Damien asked, startling the couple as he appeared from behind them.

As she jumped, she spun around and answered, "No."

"Greg, I'm disappointed." Damien said, as House rolled his eyes. "It's what we used to be called in high school. Sky, myself and Slate were in the same class and Dom and Ash were a grade behind us. We weren't, what would you call it…" Damien thought for a moment before continuing, "well, let's just say we weren't highly regarded by our peers. Excellent students for the most part as far as our grades were concerned, but we were always in trouble. It didn't take us long to get the nickname. Especially since it's what we always did." He paused.

Cameron took his pause as the end of his statement and asked, "What do you mean, it's what you always did?"

"We were the five-middle-fingers-on-a-mother-fuckin'-hand." He said, bluntly. "Hence, the nickname of 'The Fingers.'" Damien explained.

"I guess you weren't held in high regard." Cameron said.

"Game time!" Skylar yelled from the living room. "And, no we're not playing the clean way!" She replied to House's question before he could even get it out of his mouth.

* * *

Three hours and two games later, the group decided to take a break. Mainly for the players to refill drinks, stretch their legs, and for some, take a smoke break.

"Having fun?" Skylar asked, as she walked up next to her brother and took the bottle of booze out of his hand to pour herself a glass.

"As much as one can have on game night." House replied.

"Yeah, yeah." She scowled at him.

"So, we gonna discuss anything?" He asked.

"In cognito. In cognito." She replied, before continuing the conversation. "I was figuring game night in say, three weeks. It'd be the perfect excuse." Skylar said.

"She does seem to enjoy these." House replied. "Don't ask me why, but she does."

"You would too, if you let the damn barrier down and had some fun. You don't have to be the miserable asshole every time you come over. You're allowed to let loose once and awhile." Skylar jabbed.

"The last time that happened, I remember a dare that involving body paint, chocolate syrup and a huge chunk removed from my dignity."

"That was a fun night, wasn't it?" Skylar asked.

"What was?" Cameron asked, interrupting the conversation. Ignoring the fact that she had just asked a question, she continued right along. Probably because she knew she wouldn't get an answer. "What is up with Slate?" She asked.

Normally, in order to give an answer, one would need a little more information, but Skylar knew exactly what Cameron was getting at. "What can I say? He's a 6 foot 8, ex-marine that's bipolar and a bit of a sociopath. I say ex-marine because he was kicked out."

"I thought that was a requirement for the marines?" House jested.

"Yeah, but they're not too keen on the bipolar part." Skylar replied, and the three had a little chuckle. Now serious, Skylar turned to Cameron, "He's great once you get to know him, but he comes off as a bit crazy until then."

House picked up his glass, and proceeded to the living room to reclaim his seat, which had just been taken by Slate.

"So," Cameron started, "when are you going to ask about game night in three weeks?"

"I figured I'd toss it in there at the end of the night. You guys are staying over right?"

Cameron hadn't thought about that. "We didn't bring a bag or anything." She said.

"Well, it's too far of a drive to make after you've been drinking, and playing. I'm sure, between Damien and I we can come up with something that you two can wear." Then, with a smirk on her face, Skylar added, "I think Greg and I are about the same size."

* * *

The last of the games had been played and Damien and Ash were putting Monopoly away. House was the only one who walked away with any dignity, as he was still almost fully dressed. He had won the game.

"We crashin' in Jason's room?" Dom asked Skylar.

"Yeah. Ash gave you guys cards right?" He nodded. "Then you're good. You can head in anytime."

"Yeah, I'm getting' tired too." Slate said, grabbing the card and heading for Death Row. Dom not far behind, with his arm stretched over his head as he yawned.

Jason had gone in earlier, having skipped over the Monopoly game.

"Everything's away. You guys tired?" Ash asked, as he and Damien walked over to the trio of the House siblings and Cameron.

"Not really." House and Skylar said in unison.

Cameron was yawning a little, though. "No, I'm good." She said, through her yawn.

"Ten minutes." Damien said, dropping a twenty on the table.

"At least half an hour." Ash said, dropping another twenty on the table.

"More than ten but less than thirty. I say twenty five." Skylar said, dropping her own twenty down.

Cameron looked at the three roommates in confusion. House looked at Cameron and pulled his own wallet out. "Five." He said, dropping another twenty down on the table. Cameron looked at House, confusion still riddled across her face. "We're betting on how long 'til you pass out." He replied to the silent question.

Cameron proceeded to glare at House then at the three other people in the room, but she only jabbed House in the side. "I'll make it longer than five minutes."


	5. House's House of Pancakes!

A/N: i apologize for the long wait...a bit of writer's block and a broken arm isn't the greatest combination...luckily though...i was able to employ the services of my cousin to get this chapter out...i like to dictate and have someone else do the typing...it's a lot easier...so if you really want to blame someone for it taking so long to get this chapter out...blame my cousin lind, she's owed me three hours of her undivided attention for a week and a half now...now back to what you really came here for...THE FIC!...

-Fen

* * *

Skylar grabbed the money and put it in the jar that was sitting on the kitchen counter that was labeled "All Bets Are On." You know people are serious about betting when they have their own jar for it. Cameron rolled her eyes at the group just as a yawn escaped her mouth. She quickly put her hand over her mouth to hide it, but it didn't go unnoticed.

The group of four moved out to the sunroom and took seats around the small table. Unlike the infamous game night, there was no snow settling on the ground, and the windows were opening, letting in a cool night air.

Cameron sat down next to House on the comfy love seat. She shivered as a cold draft went up her spine. House instinctively wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

Skylar, across the table, nudged Damien and motioned toward her brother. It had been a long time since she had seen him that comfortable with a woman. In the couple of times he had come around while he was with Stacy, Skylar could count on one hand the number of times he did that. She smiled as she watched them.

Cameron snuggled a little closer to House, getting comfortable. She crossed her right leg over her left and wrapped her right arm around his waist.

House winked at Damien, who immediately looked at his watch. It was only three minutes since the bet was officially on. House didn't say a word, not wanting to force Cameron to stay awake, but Ash wasn't about to throw his money out the window, either. "So, Cameron," he said, over-emphasizing her name, "moved in yet?" He asked.

He didn't get the reaction he was hoping for. Cameron's eyes fluttered open for a moment, followed by a mumbled, "Not really." With his arm still wrapped around her shoulder, he drew the same arm out just slightly so that he could see his watch. "Six minutes. Twenty six…seven…eight seconds." Returning his arm to Cameron, he put his other out to receive his winnings.

"No way!" Damien interrupted. "It was over five minutes. Money goes to the next closest number." He argued.

"No." House said, drawing out the word. "It gets rounded to the closest number, which is my five minutes."

"That's a load of bull and you know it." Damien argued still. The two looked at Skylar and Ash for a decision.

Ash looked at Skylar letting her make the full decision. "You gave a max time. Which means, you thought it would take no longer than five minutes. It took six and a half, so the winnings go to Damien."

House scrunched his face at his little sister. "Figures you'd side with your husband."

"You're her blood." Damien protested House as Ash handed him the money.

* * *

"I can't believe they bet on how long it would take me to fall asleep." Cameron said to House on their ride home. She then turned to House. "And I really can't believe that you jumped in and bet too." House smiled. She really didn't understand the competitive nature that coursed through his veins. "AND you lost!" She accused. How could he have lost? They'd been dating how long now, and he still didn't have her sleep patterns down?

"If you would have fallen asleep a minute and a half sooner, we would have won." House reasoned.

"I've never met a person that could so easily take the blame off of themselves as well as you can." Cameron said, ending the conversation and entering into a comfortable silence for the remaining half hour of the ride home.

* * *

"Have a good weekend?" Wilson asked, when House walked into his office.

"I was at my sister's, what do you think?" House replied.

"Well, that could mean a number of things. Either you got drunk and don't remember more than half of the weekend. Or you could have had a wonderful time ganging up on your sister with Damien. Maybe you decided to reside in the hot tub for the weekend and now can't feel your extremities. There is always a chance that you and Skylar got into yet another stubborn fight and won't talk to each other for another five years. I wonder what plan she's going to devise in order to get you to come over this time." Wilson replied.

"None of the above." House said, not shedding any light on his weekend events.

"Anyone ever tell you that trying to have a conversation with you is like trying to get blood out of a stone?" Wilson asked and the non answer.

"Ally has said that occasionally." He replied. Wilson had to think for a moment. He still wasn't completely used to the fact that House and Cameron were dating. Hell they were practically living together.

"Said what?" Cameron asked, walking into the office.

House's head snapped up. He hadn't expected to hear her voice. "What? I'm not allowed to visit occasionally?" She asked.

"Be my guest. He's trying to find out what kind of a weekend we had." House said, baiting her.

Cameron's face turned into pure anger and she glared at Wilson. He was almost afraid of what she was going to say. "They bet on how long it would take me to fall asleep." House chuckled. "It's not funny." She looked back to Wilson. "Right?"

"Depends." Wilson replied.

"On what?" She asked.

"Who won?" He asked back.

Cameron left out an angry sigh, and stormed out of the room. "Did I say something wrong?"

"You've been divorced three times, and you still don't know the answer to that question. We're always wrong." House said, standing up and leaving his friend's office.

Wilson was just relieved that House hadn't mentioned anything about the party. He wasn't completely sure how he was going to avoid that conversation yet.

* * *

House looked around like a five year old about to go into the cookie jar ten minutes before dinner time. He was standing in the furthest stairwell he could find from his office. He pulled out his cell phone and flicked through the numbers until he found the one he was looking for. "House's House of Pancakes!" The answer came across the phone when the ringing stopped.

"What?" House asked.

"What, what?" Skylar replied.

"What was that?"

"Don't know. Can't see what you're seeing." Skylar replied.

"Nevermind, smartass." House paused, but was interrupted before he could continue with his reason for calling.

"I'm making pancakes." Skylar said. "Hence the 'House's House of Pancakes.'"

"Why couldn't you just say that before?" House asked.

"Because that wouldn't have been as much fun as tormenting you."

"Okay, enough psycho babble." House said, ending the nonsense. "I take it you mentioned to Cameron about going to game night in three weeks?"

"Yeah. She's in." Skylar replied "What else do you need me to do?" She asked.

"I figured since it's my birthday, you might get a—" He was interrupted once again.

"I was thinking along the lines of a stripper popping out of a birthday cake." Skylar said. "You know, really surprise her."

"Not bad." House said, thinking her idea was better than his own.

"So, everything's set then?"

"Yeah." House heard the door to the entrance of the stairwell open, and a very familiar voice call his name. "Gotta go." He said, snapping the phone shut. "Hey." He said, as the brunette rounded the corner of the stairwell. He shoved the phone into his pocket.

"Who were you talking to?" Cameron asked, motioning towards his pocket.

"No one." He said, as he grabbed her by the waist, and pulled her into a kiss.

No better distraction than a kiss from Greg House.


	6. The Invitation

_You're Invited!  
but it's a surprise…so hush hush  
Greg's yet another year older.  
With a fresh girlfriend, some old friends,  
And a couple extra Vicodin,  
He might make it through the party.  
So be at our place on the 23rd  
Greg'll be arriving for Game Night at the usual time.  
If you don't know, don't come._

_-Skylar House-Grimm_


	7. You Invited WHO! ?

**A/N: sorry about the teaser for the last chapter...that's why i wanted to get this one - even though it's short - out quickly...i'll update a little more tonight possibly...**

**-Fen**

* * *

"No, Mom…no…yes, he wants you to be here…of course I'm not lying…come on…if it were up to me--…no, if it were up to me the invitation would have only be addressed to you…I wouldn't have invited you if I knew Greg wouldn't want you here…fine…do whatever you want…no, Damien's gonna be here…it's his brother-in-law, I'm not telling him he can't come…fine…fine…right now, I really don't care if you come…no…I didn't mean it…I do want you here…sorry…alright…we'll see you then." Skylar snapped her cell phone shut. How she hated to talk to her parents.

"Nice chat with Mom?" Damien asked, grabbing a soda from the fridge.

"Just lovely." Skylar snarled, and left the room.

* * *

"Yeah, they should be here. I talked to Mom this morning. She can't wait." Skylar lied.

"Great. Anyone else RSVP yet?" Cameron asked.

"Uh, let me think." Skylar paused for a moment. "Lisa called a couple days ago, as did Wilson. Chase and Foreman both called. A couple guys that I remembered he hung out with college, the Fingers are all coming, the 'rents, obviously yourself," she paused again. "Oh, yeah and Stacy. I talked to her last night."

Cameron almost didn't catch the last part. "You invited Stacy? As in Greg's ex?"

"Well, yeah. It's his birthday. And she is an old friend." Skylar said into her phone, a huge grin spreading across her face. She knew Cameron would react badly, but it was the reaction at the party that she was waiting for.

"I can't believe you'd invite Stacy. I mean, I thought you would have mentioned something to me." Cameron bitched.

"Why? I told you I was going to take care of the invitations and you seemed fine with that." Skylar argued back, the grin still on her face. "Hey, calm down. You know I've never been a huge Stacy fan. But she was part of his life for awhile. I think it would be nice for him to be able to see her again. He has you. That's all he wants. She's just an old friend." Skylar finished. She was answered by a soft beep emitted from her phone, signaling that the call was ended. "Damn this is gonna be good."

Quickly scrolling through the numbers in her phone book, she initialized another call.

"Hello?" The voice came across the other end.

"Hey." Skylar replied. "Just wanted to let you know, Stacy will be joining us on this fateful night of ours."

"What? Why would you invite her?" Wilson asked, immediately followed by, "And why would you tell me? I'm already having enough trouble trying to keep the whole you know what out of the bag."

"You're trying to talk in cognito. Is he there?" Skylar asked.

"I can't be completely sure." Wilson replied.

"He just walked in?" Skylar asked.

"That would be a definite." Wilson said, as he stared at House.

"Oh, put him on. I have something I wanted to tell him."

"Are you insane?" Wilson asked. He was returned with an earful from Skylar and a questioning look from House.

"Why are you talking to my sister?" House asked.

"I'm not." Wilson replied.

"I can hear her shrieking all the way over here." He said, putting his hand out. Wilson gave him the phone. "I thought it was House's House of Pancakes, not House's House of Whining?" House said into the phone.

"I wasn't whining. I was bitching. There's an immense difference." Skylar replied. "On a side note, I just wanted to check and make sure that you'd be attending Game Night this weekend. We've decided to do a Super Game Night."

"Do I even want to know?" House asked.

"Since you asked, it's nothing major. Just a couple extra people, a decent spread and about five grands worth of booze."

"What? You and Damien the only ones drinking?"

"We might save a little for you. But just a little."

"We'll be there." House replied.


	8. And So It Begins

**A/N: as we move along with this fic...the obvious must happen...a stacy confrontation...i apologize, but that will not be in this chapter...it will be in the next...it isn't written yet, but i have a decent outline for it so it shouldn't take too long...enjoy...**

**-Fen**

* * *

The fateful night had finally arrived. Skylar's friend was just finishing up setting up the catered buffet tables when the first guests arrived. A splendid evening it was going to be. Skylar was very proud of her deceiving nature and the disaster she had planned. If everything went the way she had planned, most of the guests would leave being amused while others were just going to storm out of the building. She had one person particularly in mind for the latter.

Skylar had arranged for a "dress rehearsal" with the boys before the party would begin. She wanted to make sure that they were dressed suitably. She had no concerns for Jason. He had good taste and was used to dressing the part. It was Ash and Damien she worried about. Mostly Damien. He was famous for his antics.

Walking into Ash's room, she quickly inspected his attire and pleased, she told him he was free to move amongst the now forming crowd in their living room.

Next, she entered Damien's room. She saved him for last for two reasons. The first being, if they both showed up a little late for the party due to last minute wardrobe change it could simply be explained by them being married and taking a moment. Her second reason was that she needed a bit of assistance in her own outfit.

"You look good." She said upon walking into the room. His black slacks and crimson red silk button down that was just a little too tight was a perfect match to her own outfit. Almost like they had planned it.

"So I'm free to go?" Damien asked, not sure why he agreed to the examination.

"I didn't do a full walk around." She scowled, then proceeded to walk around him. "Alright, you're free," she paused, "right after you finish helping me."

"Oh come on. This is ridiculous. You're a grown woman and you can't even dress—"

"Stop the whining and tie." She said, motioning to the back of her top. She had opted for her black angle-cut skirt. By itself it was hideous because of the excessive material. But with the corset top and the fact that she had hacked half of the material off the mid-calf length skirt, it was perfect. The corset top was black with scarlet striped detail and the satin tie up the back matched the scarlet detail. "Tighter. Do you want me flopping out of it?" She asked, as he was apparently tying it too loose.

"And that would be different from every other party how?" Damien asked as he cinched the material a little tighter.

Once done, Skylar turned around and looked Damien over one more time. "Just one minor change." She said, moving in for the buttons on the shirt.

"My neck's too wide. It doesn't button." Damien moaned as her hands enveloped the buttons. He was surprised when he noticed that she was actually undoing the top button he had done. "Oh, sorry." He apologized.

"Ready?" Skylar asked.

"I think I should be asking you that question. It's your parents that are here."

"And I repeat. Are you ready?" She said with a smile on her face as the two exited the room and headed for the now crowded living room.

* * *

"She had to go pee." House griped into the phone. "We're at the Wawa about ten miles out. Gotta go, here she comes." He snapped the phone shut on his sister.

"Sorry. I just really had to go." Cameron said getting back into the car. Actually she didn't, but she wanted to give Skylar a heads up on their location and when they would be arriving.

"Next time you're shoving your ass out the window." House replied.

"Since when do you want to get to Game Night?" Cameron asked. He had been nervous for almost the whole ride. House was never nervous and Cameron was hoping that Wilson hadn't spilled the beans about the surprise party.

As they pulled into the driveway, Cameron was surprised when House didn't make a comment about all the cars. He had mentioned something about talking to Skylar so maybe she had explained the cars.

House got out and grabbed his cane. As he walked around the vehicle, Cameron got out and starting walking up to the building.

* * *

The door opened slowly, as Skylar had instructed all the guests to just walk in. Cameron peered her head around the corner. "Would you just move already?!" House bitched giving her a half shove to get her in the door.

"SURPRISE!!" The room full of people yelled as House became visible from behind Cameron.

The seething look that House shot Cameron would have instantly killed most people. The gaze turned next upon his sister, whom just smiled, and mouthed the words, "Happy Birthday."

House walked into the room, unsure of some of the occupants. Wilson was the first immediately familiar face that House saw, and therefore was the direction House steered in.

He was almost to his best friend, and about ready to curse him for not giving a heads up on the party, when he was pulled aside. Whipping his head around to see who would dare to grab his arm in such a manner, he was brought face-to-face with his mother. "Mom?"

"Happy Birthday, Greg." She said, pulling him into a tight embrace. House returned the embrace, a smile stretched across his features. That is, until he caught sight of another familiar face. This one not so welcome.

"Happy Birthday." His father said, without so much as an outstretched hand.

Blythe turned her position to allow a small triangle to form between the three of them. Short conversation ensued, in which House didn't really want to be involved since anything he said, his father shot down.

Damien saw the exchange from across the room, and that moment to intervene. He walked right up to House, pushing John House just slightly in doing so. "I thought the birthday boy was supposed to get the first drink." He said, cutting into the conversation.

"I think that's the first piece of cake." House said, but took the opportunity to get away from his dad. "Thank you." He said as he followed Damien.

"All I ask is that you repay the favor later."


	9. The Toast

**A/N: well, i've finally resurfaced after my summer hiatus...i do apologize to everyone...but this always happens to me...i plan to write, but with everything that goes on, i hardly ever get the chance...so i'm saying on HUGE apology, and then i'll get on with the fic...**

**-Fen**

* * *

"Next time my parents have you cornered, consider it done." House replied to Damien's comment.

"_That_ shouldn't happen anytime soon. John and Blythe stay pretty far away from me. I'm the evil one that corrupted their pure and innocent daughter." Damien said, as the two grabbed drinks.

"She was far from pure and innocent when she met you. Her perversion is her own doing." House said, taking a sip of his drink.

"I second that." Ash said, walking up next to the his brother and House. "But this," he motioned around the room to the decorations, food, and occupants, "is the doing of a disturbed mind. Who in their right mind would throw you a party and expect it to be welcomed with open arms? I pity our dear Dr. Cameron when she gets home with you."

"I don't think so much." Damien replied as he saw House's eyes lock on one of the guests. "Shh—" Damien cut his brother's retort off as House walked away toward the guest. "This should be good."

* * *

"Stacy." House said, hiding his surprise that she was at the party.

"Greg." She took a moment to take him in. In had been a couple years since she had seen him last. And she couldn't help but notice that there was something very different about him. She couldn't quite place it, but there was definitely something odd about him. "Happy Birthday." She said, interrupting her own stupor.

"Glad you could make it." He said, not really sure if the statement was true, but it had been so long since he had gotten a chance to see Stacy. Her beauty always captured him.

"How've you been?" Stacy asked.

"Fine." He said. She gave him a look, hoping for more information. "We've been busy." He obliged to her silent query.

"I see your team was able to get here." She said, noting that Chase and Foreman were already at the party, and that Cameron had come in with House. Stacy didn't know about the relationship between House and Cameron, and had been wondering how the young brunette had been able to con her boss into coming without him knowing it was a surprise party. "Did you know it was a party?"

"Sorta. This is wasn't I expected, but then again, a party can hold more than one secret."

"Greg!" Skylar interrupted the conversation. "Hey! I've been trying to make my way over to you. Damn people keep cornering me. Bastards!"

"Is there a reason for your rant?" House asked.

"Yeah. Kiki called me this morning. She's got the flu. We need a second course of action, and we need it quick." Skylar glanced around room, taking note of where certain people were. Cameron was starting in their direction, wondering what the conversation between House and Stacy was consisting of. Skylar caught Damien's gaze, and motioned. The hawk swooped in, and scooped Cameron out onto the dance floor that was setup in the courtyard. Skylar turned back to House. "Did you have a plan B?"

"Never." House replied as if it were obvious. "Here." He said digging into his pocket and handing something to Skylar. "Assuming a toast of some sort is planned, save it for that."

"Devil." Skylar said, as she realized her brother's words. "Now, you might want to get out there, or there might not be a reason for this." Skylar said, holding up the black box that House had handed her. "Damien's an exceptional dancer, and may sweep her off her feet."

House moved to the courtyard. As House grabbed onto Damien's arm to remove it from Cameron, a very familiar song began to play. House internally cursed because he knew what his sister was trying to do by playing that song. He had never been able to refuse. He didn't know why, but he just couldn't with that song.

"Dance with me." Cameron whispered into his ear. House glared at her, and she glared right back. It was something about her defiance that he just couldn't say no.

House stepped in front of her, as the first verse of the song played. Resting his cane against one of the stone fountains, he took one of her smaller hands into his and let his other hand rest on the small of her back. He slowly stepped into the beat of the song, allowing himself to be swept into the music and into Cameron. _Was it something I said, or something I did? Did my words not come out right? _The strum of the guitar flowed through him and for those few minutes, took the pain from. _Every rose has its thorn. Just like every night has its dawn. Just like every cowboy sings sad, sad song. Every rose has its thorn._

The beat picked up, and so did House. He twirled Cameron slightly, knowing not to push his luck. _Easy come and easy go. But I wonder, does he know? Has he ever felt like this?_ A quick dip, and Cameron felt fairly light-headed. She had never expected this from House. Never. _Every rose has its thorn. Just like every night has its dawn. Just like every cowboy sings a sad, sad song. Every rose has its thorn._ The song came to and end, House steadied Cameron, grabbed his cane and walked off the dance floor.

Unable to make it his sister, he glowered in her general direction. "Hey, Greg, long time no see." Someone said, grabbing him by the arm, and dropping a shot in his hand. "Here. For old times." House downed the shot, and turned direction.

* * *

"What the hell was that?" Cameron asked no one in particular as she exited the dance floor.

"That would be the Greg you haven't met yet." Jason said.

Cameron jumped not expecting a response to her question. "What?" She said, having not really heard his response due to shock.

"I said, you don't know that side of him. The side before Stacy." Jason could tell Cameron was a little confused. "Don't ask me why, and I wouldn't even suggest asking him because I don't think he even knows. But for some reason, he has always loved that song. Not that he'd admit to it. He used to sneak Sky and the Fingers into clubs years ago. None of the Fingers were legal, but Greg, as you know, has that charm. He can talk a hypochondriac into a cesspool. So he'd get 'em in. And Sky, being the spitting image of her brother, would become…well, let's say _popular_. She'd always get the DJ to play that song, and he'd curse her every time. I think it started out as a joke, but turned into more when she realized he actually liked the song.

"The one thing I do know. No matter how many times that song was played, he never once danced with Stacy to it. That burned her. She hated that he wouldn't. He'd grab a stranger before he'd dance with her. Hell, I remember a time, a very inebriated time, when he actually danced with Damien. I would like to emphasize the inebriated part." Jason finished.

"The more I hear about those two, the more I really start to wonder about them."

* * *

It was finally time for the toast. House had been dreading this moment. Cameron knew the House of now. Not the House from ten or fifteen years ago. Not the House that most of the people in the room knew. Not that he was against her finding anything out about him. Hell he answered any question she'd ever asked about his past. He just didn't want her finding out because a couple drunk bastards had loose tongues.

The noise in the room hadn't fully come to a halt, so Skylar took it upon herself to make it. "HEY!" She yelled. When she didn't get everyone's complete and utter attention, she yelled again. "HEY! JACKASSES! SHUT UP OR THE BOOZE IS CUT OFF!" The room went silent.

Skylar had been planning to make a lengthy toast to her brother and take every opportunity to embarrass him, but at the last minute – very last minute, like five minutes before the toast – Damien had asked if he could give the toast. Skylar relented, but there was no arguing over who would grab the attention of the attendees.

Damien attempted to stand up on one of the barstools, and Skylar and Ash took bets on how long he'd be able to stay on the stool without falling off.

Keeping his balance, Damien began, "It's seems like a life time ago I met Skylar House. She was playing in her aunt's backyard. My little brother came running in the house screaming that some_ girl_ was in the yard next door, and she was becoming threateningly close to _our_ toys. Somewhat intrigued by the fact that _anyone_ in our neighborhood would have the balls to come into our yard, I went out back to take a look for myself.

By the time I got out there, she was actually playing with our toys. So Ash and I bolted down the steps and started after to her. How dare she play with our toys?" He paused for a moment, giving Skylar a knowing look. "We were just about to have our hands on her, when someone grabbed our shirt collars from behind us. Without a word, the protective older brother clunked our heads together, and stated that Skylar was allowed to play with whatever toys she wanted to play with.

That was my first of many meetings with Greg House. For the next couple summers, every time we were about to pounce on Sky, Greg appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, to knock us senseless, and protect the _baby girl_.

Fast forward a couple years, when Skylar came to live next door to us full time. I still remember the sound of the knock on our front door. I remember my dad opening the door, and Ash and I running to hide in our rooms – before being stopped by our mom – because Greg House was coming into our home."

Damien watched as Skylar looked at her brother. This was a small tidbit of information that Damien had never shared with Skylar. "He came over to talk to Ash and I. He wanted to let us know that his little sister was going to be staying next door, and that he was putting us in charge of protecting her. Greg said he couldn't be there all the time for her, and that he needed someone he could trust to keep an eye out for her. After asking why he thought we were up for the job; I got the swift reply, 'Because if you don't, I'm not going to smash your skulls together anymore.' Obviously, we gave him a confused look. This wasn't an obvious threat. He immediately followed his statement with, 'I'm just learning how to fix people in med school. Get my drift?' Ash and I needed no other coaxing.

As we got older, Greg came around and took us out. He'd get us into clubs that we shouldn't really have been in. Got us booze we really shouldn't have had. He became the older brother to us all." Damien said, motioning around the room to all the Fingers. He got off the bar stool – Ash and Skylar both cursed, each having lost the bet since he didn't fall – and grabbed two toasting glasses that were sitting on the counter next to Skylar.

Making his way across the room to where House stood next to Cameron, "And that's why I asked to the honors tonight." A glint of something was in his eye as he looked at House. Something mischievous. "You're the older brother I never had. You're the guy who always kept me in check, and the only guy I'd have as a brother-in-law." He walked closer to House and Cameron, but still didn't hand them the glasses he was juggling in one hand since his other held his own drink. "And no matter how old you get, you will always be the guy I fear will dismember my body while I'm still alive to watch." Damien paused to allow some of the laughter from the room to die down. "So, here's to you, Greg House, 50 down, and hopefully 50 more to go. God help us all!" He handed the drinks to House and Cameron as he downed his own glass.

House took a sip from his glass, but never took his eyes off of Cameron as she drank from her glass. She'd taken a pretty decent gulp, and it didn't take her long to choke and gasp for air. She swirled her tongue around her mouth, and finally put her hand up to her mouth to take the object that was choking her out of her mouth.

A perfectly cut princess diamond surrounded by smaller onyx and sapphire stones. She turned her head to look at House, but found something she had never expected. Damien was standing next to his brother-in-law, holding his cane, while House was kneeling on his good leg.


	10. Complications

**A/N: i know this is short, but i promised a lot of people to have something out for the weekend...i'll get the next chapter out soon...**

**-Fen**

* * *

"I never thought it was in you to be as cold and heartless as your brother." Stacy said. She knew Skylar never really liked her, but never knew why. And obviously not to what extent. "I thought I was invited to-"

"That's the problem you thought. It never gets you very far." Skylar interrupted.

"You know, I made your brother a very happy man." Stacy retorted.

"That's right. You made a cripple for life." Skylar got defensive. Ash, who had been standing next to Skylar, backed up just a bit incase a fist went flying. He didn't want to be caught anywhere in the middle of that.

"I made the decision that I thought was right."

"Yeah, well, it was the wrong decision." Skylar had always been very touchy about the situation, and now she wasn't going to hold back.

"I don't recall you being there to add your input."

Stacy was about to walk away, but Skylar stopped her with one simple sentence. "He didn't want me to upset you." Stacy turned around and looked at Skylar. A question on her face. "You heard correctly. He asked me…begged me not to come because it would only upset you. We'd never really gotten along, and he knew you were having a rough time with his…his situation. So I didn't go. And by obeying my brother, I let him become a cripple. So yes, Stacy, I am cold and heartless. But I'm not cruel." Stacy just stared at Skylar. "You're free to leave whenever you want." Skylar ended the conversation and looked back at her brother, wondering what was going on with his proposal.

* * *

Cameron just stood there. She didn't know what to do. After all the planning, and secret meetings, she had never once expected that a surprise was in store for her. Let alone a proposal. Of course she wanted to say yes, but something in the back of her mind didn't want to let her. All she could think of was what happened the last time she had gotten married. Everything had ended so quickly and badly. She didn't want a recurrence of the same thing. And she was afraid that that is exactly what would happen if she said yes.

She looked down at House, who was bearing a very anxious face. She fingered the ring in her hand. Not sure what to do. There was no right action. Well, there was, but she wasn't sure she could say yes.

Seeing the panic of the situation, Damien stepped in front of the couple and faced the crowd of people waiting her answer. "Okay! Everybody! Back up. Let them have a little room!" He pushed the crowd back, as he handed House his cane.

House stood up and looked at Cameron. Confusion evident on his face. He thought this was the one sure thing. The one thing she'd never disagree with him about. "Ali? You do understand the question right?" House asked, not sure how to break the ice.

She smiled and a tear dropped down her cheek. House enveloped her in his arms. "What's wrong?" He asked. This was not the reaction he had expected. Cameron returned his embrace, but remained silent. House sighed as dramatically as he could. "Alright, alright. I give. If you want kids, we can have kids." Cameron laughed. House always knew how to lighten a situation.

She pulled back and looked up at him. "You sure you want me?" She asked.

House's eyes shifted back and forth. "I would think I should be asking that question. I mean, come on. Look at my psycho family?" He said, motioning around the room to his sister, Damien, and his parents.

"I don't have a good track record." She stated.

"I never liked track very much. I was always more of a lacrosse kinda guy." He smiled, which caused her to smile. "So, what'd ya say?" He asked again. She continued to smile. "Please don't make me get back down on my knee. It hurts." He whined.

"Like you don't know what my answer is." She said, as she stood up on tip toe to give him a kiss.

"Come on, get a room." Foreman said, as he and Chase walked up to the couple.

Cameron turned and stuck her tongue out. "Well, let's see it." Chase asked, referring to the ring. He had gone ring shopping for Cameron a couple times, but knew he'd never have the guts to actually propose. Especially after she and House started dating.


	11. Stacy's Reaction

**A/N: i have only one thing to say: ColorofAngels - here is stacy's reaction...now STOP holding the next chapter of I Do? I Don't? hostage!!!!!! or i will be forced to do something dastardly evil...**

**-Fen**

* * *

House and Cameron made their way around the room. Being congratulated by almost everyone attending the party. They had just finished shots of Jagermeister with Slayton, and were headed towards House's parents when a hand appeared on House's shoulder, spinning him around. "Happy Birthday, and congratulations."

It took House a moment to realize what was going on. He had massive quantities of alcohol flowing through his blood stream. He figured it was the only way he'd be able to deal with his parents. It didn't help that everyone and their brother wanted to drink with the recently engaged couple. "Stacy?" House asked. Her words hadn't completely registered in his head. "Thanks." He finally got out. She went to walk away. "You're leaving?" He asked, almost begged.

"Don't take this wrong, but this isn't exactly my cup of tea." She said motioning toward Cameron.

House followed her gaze, and he realized the absurdity of the situation. Under different circumstances, it would have been Stacy standing next to him, walking around the room, taking shots, and giving hugs. Okay, maybe not taking shots, but giving hugs. His mind briefly wandered to that night on roof of PPTH. The night he threw the final blow, and pushed her away for good. The whole time he had been fingering the box in his pocket. For what reason he didn't know then, but he walked away from Stacy and hawked the ring the following day.

Trying his best not to slur and sound at least somewhat sincere, "Why not stay a little longer? Enjoy the evening. Free food, drinks, and a great party." After it came out, he wanted to slap himself. Cameron's compassion was rubbing off on him.

"No thanks." Was all she said as she turned her back and walked away.

Cameron had turned, and was looking at House. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. You sure you wanna talk to my parents? Maybe we should just send Skylar over." House said, changing the subject.

"Yeah, cause that makes sense." Cameron returned. "Let's go."

"Can I at least get a drink first?"

"Stop stalling." Cameron pulled House by the arm, and made her way over to Blythe and John.

"I'm surprised you're not trying to save him." Skylar said watching the interaction between her brother and parents.

"I saved him earlier. It's your turn." Damien replied, handing Skylar her refill.

"I lead others to slaughter, not myself." Skylar said, but started in the direction of her parents anyway.

She grabbed two glasses on her way. "I don't believe I got a chance to drink a toast to the engagement." Skylar said, handing House and Cameron glasses.

"You've certainly toasted a drink to everything else tonight." John House said in response to his daughter's comments.

"It kills you, don't it?" Skylar had indeed had more than her usual quantity of alcohol and was feeling strangely froggy.

"Sky." House warned, not wanting to be forced to rip his sister off their father. Or vice versa.

"No, Greg." Skylar turned to look at House, before snapping back to her father. "It's Greg's 50th, he just got engaged, and the best you can do is stand here thoroughly agitated, and expect everyone to kiss your ass."

House shook his head. Alcohol, his parents, and Skylar in the same room were not a good idea. He couldn't believe that it was actually hers. "How 'bout that toast?" He said, suddenly sober. He grabbed the glasses that Skylar had proffered and tipped her own glass up to her mouth.

John was making a comment about her drinking as House pushed his sister in the opposite direction. Jason pulled interference and pulled Skylar onto the dance floor.

House turned back to his parents. Blythe renewed the conversation. "Greg, I hadn't even known that you were seeing anyone, let alone thinking of marriage."

"We haven't really made a formal announcement, Mom." House replied.

Blythe turned to Cameron. "You seem so sweet. I hope you know what you're getting into." She said, looking between her two children and her husband.

"I have a good idea." Cameron replied. A few moments of awkward silence followed, until Cameron interrupted them. "I have to _powder my nose_." She said, walking away from the trio and heading for the Igloo.

"I figured you'd have to go to the bathroom at some point." The voice called from behind Cameron. She quickly spun around to find herself face-to-face with Stacy.

"Are you stalking me for any particular reason?" Cameron asked. She had been dreading this moment, ever since Skylar told her that Stacy would be at the party.

"I just thought that you should know what you're getting into. Because the fact that that ring is on your finger, means you probably don't." Stacy started, but was swiftly interrupted.

"I think the fact that this ring isn't on your finger is a good enough reason for you to be disillusioned. I know exactly what I'm getting into, so I don't need your insight." Cameron replied as shortly as possible.

"I thought you were leaving." Skylar said, walking into the Igloo. She'd seen Stacy go in earlier, and had just seen Cameron walk in. Not a combination she wanted alone in the Igloo.

"Dr. Cameron and I were just having a girl-to-girl, right?" Stacy said, looking at Cameron.

"Have you forgotten that I can smell bullshit from a mile away? So stop being jealous. And didn't I invite you to leave?" Skylar said. Stacy just stared at her. Skylar ignored the odd attention, and wrapped an arm around Cameron's shoulder, "So, Sis! Wanna have some fun? I was thinking a little drunken mischief."

Stacy fumed for a moment. She had done everything she could when she and House were together to get on Skylar's good side and it never happened. She only spent a moment contemplating if things might have been different before she walked out and back into the party. She spoke briefly with House's parents. Polite hellos, and how are yous, then she made unnoticed exit as Cameron and Skylar came out of the Igloo dressed only in their……..


	12. Toe Socks & Fountains

**A/N: okay so i was going to update my other fics, but this just forced itself out and i had to post it...it only took an hour to write, so i hope its up to par...let me know what you guys think... just one other thing...i wrote this entire chapter listening to Nick Cave's _The Mercy Seat_, and it's the song i am referring to halfway through...for those of you that haven't heard of him...check him out...he's kinda disturbed and evil but i love it... : )  
**

**-Fen**

* * *

The couple entered the room and all eyes immediately fell upon them. It was a case of 'how could you not look.' Cherry pink, violet purple and black striped toe socks adorned their feet. The socks were pulled all the way up to the knee. From the knee, only one of the four thighs was partially covered – with a tattoo of amethyst dragon scales. Following up the leg with the scales, a pair of black lace boy cut panties; whereas the other set of legs led to black silk panties with deep purple lace trim. The black lace clad body led up to black corset top with scarlet red trim and lacing. The silk panty clad body led up to a black lace camisole, then hugged the perfect body, and ended with a scallop trim just above the belly button. 

The pair marched further into the room, lifting their legs high and placing them purposefully as they made their way through the crowd. Arms crossed over shoulders, the two swayed their hips to the exact same beat.

Not able to tear their eyes away from their significant other, House and Damien conversed with their eyes glued to the scantily dressed pair that was working their way to the dance floor. "You realize that this can mean only one of two things." Damien said.

Without turning his head, House replied. "Which are?"

"Well, there's letter A. In which Allison was lured over to the dark side by a sexily deceiving-"

"She's my sister, I don't need to hear the word sexy when describing her." House said, finally breaking eye contact to look at Damien as he scolded. That's when he took notice to Ash standing next to them.

"Deceiving Double Agent DragonScale." House laughed at Damien's obvious reference to Skylar's newest tattoo. "And then there's my favorite." Damien was still in a trance. "Letter two-"

"Two cannot be a _letter_." House interrupted again.

"Actually it can." Ash retorted, and received disbelieving stares from both House and Damien. "If it's a Roman Numeral, it's two 'I's." He said with a grin. House rolled his eyes and Damien shook his head.

"Only you could come up with that." Damien replied.

"Hey, you're the one who called the _number_ two a letter." Ash said, and returned his attention to the two women who were quickly taking over the dance floor."

"Like I was saying, _letter_ two," Damien said purposefully, glaring at both House and Ash, then continued, "our dear Allison-"

"You had better not be referring to her as _our_ anything." House interrupted, yet again.

"You know, it's very rude to interrupt a person when they're in the middle of trying to EXPLAIN SOMETHING TO YOU!" Damien said the last part through his gritted teeth. "NOW, as I was saying, the only other explanation is that _your_ dear Allison has had _way_ too much to drink, and we definitely need to get a camera. Like right now! Ash, go!" Damien said, pushing his brother along as his gaze became once again completely fixed on the female couple out by the dance floor.

Cameron and Skylar had made their way away from the dance floor, and climbed onto the ledge of the large stone dragon fountain in the courtyard. With their bodies grinding into each other, their arms flailed around them to the beat of the music playing in the background. It was loud, and fast. The singer was almost yelling the lyrics, but it still sounded almost beautiful. The fact that the lyrics spoke of death and killing, and the evil soul on dead row, meant nothing when the two women danced.

* * *

"Is it sick that I'm being turned on by this?" House asked, knowing it was somewhat wrong since one of the two women was his own blood. 

"Not if you're only looking at Allison. Otherwise, yeah, you're a total perv." Damien replied.

"Back." Ash said, somewhat out of breath, as he had ran to get the camera.

"Well, where's the camera?!" Damien bitched.

"I did one better." Ash said, holding up their video camera. An evil grin came across his face. "Now, this is blackmail material right here." He said, focusing Skylar and Cameron into the viewfinder, and zooming in as close as he could.

* * *

As the music slowed in its natural pace to allow the singer to slow his singing, Cameron and Skylar leaned into the other's embrace in an erotic sight of playfulness. Cameron reached behind Skylar's head and pulled the single chopstick that held her hair bundled upon her head. Skylar's long, waving sea of hair fell onto her shoulders. As if it had been planned from the beginning, both women threw their heads back, and arched their backs allowing their centers to meet for only a moment before they jerked their heads forward again, throwing their hair into a tumbling mess of one. 

The same words kept rolling from the singer's mouth, and the pace of the song started to settle. The song quickly picked back up, only to slow one final time. _And anyway I told the truth, but I'm afraid I told a lie._ A few more drums hits and guitar strokes. A violin squealed in joy and the drums took over, but only for a moment as the violins returned, and pulled a long final chord as the song ended, as Skylar and Cameron collapsed into the fountain.

In a fit of giggles, the two women, absolutely could not move. Their bodies wouldn't allow them. House, Damien, and Ash walked over to the fountain as a new song started, and the crowd started to fill the dance floor once again.

"Having fun?" Ash asked, focusing on them in the fountain with the camera.

"A ball!" Skylar shouted through her giggles. She turned to her brother, "You need to teach this girl how to hold her liquor. No way is she gonna keep up with us." Skylar said, pulling herself up from the fountain. She leaned forward, and grabbed Cameron's arm, and pulled her to her feet. Cameron was still unable to stop giggling.

"I've never done anything like that." Cameron said.

"Well, once you're married into the family, it's required that you do things like that multiple times a year." Damien said.

"Multiple times a night is much better though!" Ash said, satisfied with his blackmail material, and turned the camera off.

Cameron was finally able to get her giggling to subside. She stepped out of the fountain, taking House's hand, and Skylar did the same, taking Damien's hand. It was only then that Cameron realized her utter lack of clothing, and large crowd of people around her. She started to try and cover herself up, but there was really nothing she could do. "You have no problem grinding into my sister's body, or strutting your stuff through the entire room in front of everyone, including my own parents, but as soon as you get soaking wet, you need to cover up." House said. He turned to Damien. "I don't think I'll ever understand women."

"It's women." Damien replied. "Hell, I could strip Skylar down to nothing and she'd walk through here like she had seven layers of clothes on." Damien said, earning himself a smack on the arm from Skylar.

"She'll get there." Skylar said, then looked at Cameron. "I've never had a better partner." She said as sincerely as she could. "Now, if you boys don't mind, we need to go add a couple layers." Skylar grabbed Cameron's hand and headed back toward the Igloo.

About half way there, Skylar and Cameron started their giggle fit again, but were at least able to move this time, as they successfully made it to the Igloo.


	13. A Dazed Sunrise

**A/N:thank you to everyone that's reviewed so far...i'm really enjoying this one...almost as much as the first one...i've only got another chapter or so for this one, and then it's kapute...and for those of you not reading Clinic Duty, i apologize for the alerts taht came out today...i was posting my buffy fic from years ago, and just wanted to get it up on ff...i'll be posting more tomorrow night...so i apologize in advance for it...hope you enojoy...let me know what you think...**

**-Fen**

* * *

It didn't take long for Cameron and Skylar to dry off and redress. They actually emerged from the Igloo looking even better than they had at the beginning of the night.

Skylar immediately noticed that the room was a little sparse. "What? We scare 'em off?" She asked, as she and Cameron rejoined House, Damien and Ash.

"Oh, yeah, with your hideous bodies." Damien said, with a roll of his eye.

House glanced around the room, and without looking at his sister said, "Looks like mom and dad are getting to leave. Should we?"

Skylar sighed. "I guess." She said defeated.

The two started to walk towards their parents. Cameron turned to Damien. "Should I go with? I mean, they're going to be my in-laws?"

Damien smiled at her. "That's so sweet." Cameron returned a questioning look. "You're willingness to throw yourself on the executioner's lap will get you just there. On the executioner's lap. Trust me, after that display, you are by no means sober enough to talk to those two." He finished with a chuckle and continued to watch the interaction between the House siblings and their parents. Ready to rescue if needed.

* * *

"Looks like you're getting ready to go." House said, walking up to his mother.

"Yeah. It's getting late." Blythe replied.

"I didn't realized you'd hired strippers for the evening." John said, obviously bothered by the show. Skylar clenched her jaw, and looped her arm through her brother's. "I thought this was going to be a _decent_ party." John spat at his youngest child.

Skylar just started to laugh. The whispered warning from House meant nothing. It wasn't going to stop her. "What? You're afraid of people trying to have a little fun. Come on. Get off it. Besides, you never-"

House cleared his throat. "Have a good flight home, Mom. Thanks for coming." He leaned forward and hugged his mother. He pushed Skylar, and she did the same.

House turned and grabbed Skylar, as she was trying to have a stare down with her father. As they walked through the dwindling crowd, House whispered, "You realize I'm supposed to the black sheep. You're the baby girl. They're supposed to adore you."

Skylar scoffed. "The only one that ever did that was you."

* * *

"Seems liked you killed the crowd." Foreman said, walking up to Cameron with Chase at his side. Cameron laughed, and hugged both of them. Foreman raised his eyebrows. "How much have you had to drink?"

"I think it's obvious by the earlier display." Chase said under his breath.

"Anyway, we just came over to say our goodbyes. We gotta get back to Princeton. Someone's gotta go in tomorrow." Foreman said, ignoring Chase.

"Oh, yeah. Thanks again for agreeing to work for us. Really thanks, guys." Cameron said, giving them both another hug.

"Alright, we'll see you Monday." Chase said, as he and Foreman made for the front door.

"Yeah." Cameron shouted toward them as she once again got wrapped up with the Fingers, and was forced to take another shot.

* * *

With a little assistance, House was able to get Cameron to their bedroom in Skylar's place. She'd passed out after another couple rounds of shots. "Definitely not a fish." Damien said, as he and House exited the room softly, making sure not to stir Cameron.

"You got that right." House replied.

"Got what right?" Skylar asked, coming from her own room, wearing her pjs.

Damien completely ignored her question, and asked on of his own, "Up for a dazed sunrise?"

"Always." Skylar replied, taking Damien offered arm, and snaking her other arm around her brother's free arm. "Like old times." The trio made their way out to the courtyard where they were joined by Ash.

"Dazed sunrise?" He asked.

"What else?" Skylar scoffed.

The four adults just sat there, staring up at the sky. The sun would definitely be rising soon. "Do you do it on purpose or does it just come naturally to you?" House asked the air.

"Which one of us are you talking to?" Damien asked.

"Which one do you think? The mastermind behind this whole thing." House paused for a moment, but continued before his sister had a chance to reply. "I'm starting to think that you just _like_ flirting with disaster."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Skylar said, looking as innocent as possible.

"You plan a _surprise_ birthday party for _me_ of all people. You invite people I haven't seen in years. Some I was actually interested in talking to, and some I could have cared less if I ever saw them again."

"Which one of those categories does Stacy fit into?" Damien asked.

House thought about not answering. He honestly couldn't think which one she fit into. Maybe she had her own category and that was why. But he just didn't know. So he shrugged. "I would probably put her in the first category, but not on the same night I was planning to propose to another woman. What were you thinking?" House asked his sister, his voice getting loud and somewhat heated.

"Well, I thought you would like to see her for you birthday, so I invited her." Skylar replied, hoping he wouldn't see through the swiss cheese.

"That would make sense if you didn't know about the engagement. You had to know that it could have exploded."

"Could have. It didn't. Stacy isn't the kind of person to make a huge scene like that. She said her goodbyes and left. Just as quietly as she came." Skylar defended.

"What about Mom and Dad? Where was your head on that one?" House asked.

Skylar looked appalled that he would even suggest they shouldn't have been there, then she turned to Damien. "I'm with him on this one. I mean, they can't stand the fact that you married and yet we still rarely sleep in the same bed. They absolutely _hate_ me. Hell, if it were legal, I'm sure you're dad would have killed me by now." Damien said.

"It was your birthday. I thought you'd want Mom there. I couldn't invite Mom and not Dad." Skylar explained.

"Why not?" House, Damien and Ash chimed together.

"You guys are impossible." Trying to steer the conversation away from the verbal beating she was taking, she said, "Look, sun's coming up."

Ash grabbed the bottle of scotch that he'd brought out to the courtyard, and took a long drink, then passed the bottle to Skylar, who passed it along to Damien and her brother.

"I haven't enjoyed a dazed sunrise in awhile." House said, as the liquor assaulted his brain.


	14. Waffles

**A/N: i'd like to apologize for the wait on an update...i've been real busy with work...for some strange reason, halloween always brings in a lot of business...**

** -Fen**

* * *

**"**How much did you let me drink last night?" Cameron said, waking up to see House staring back at her. "I think there's five purple elephants in blue leotards dancing around with jackhammers in my head."

House's eyebrow quirked upwards, "And that's the only way you come up with describing that?"

"As a matter of fact, yes." Cameron replied. House's eyes glazed over, and she could tell that he hadn't listened to her response. "What? What is it?" Cameron asked, becoming somewhat concerned.

"Get up." House instructed, moving himself to get up as well. House grabbed his cane, and Cameron's arm and headed for the door.

"What's wrong?" Cameron asked, starting to become concerned by House's actions.

"Damien's making waffles. I can smell them. Hurry." House tugged her along.

* * *

"What flavor?" Damien asked as House as the couple emerged. 

"Buttermilk Cherry Pomegranate with a side of bacon and scrapple. And don't skimp. I don't want that crappy Hatfield stuff." House said without a second thought. "You?" He asked, turning to Cameron.

"I don't know. I was hoping to get something to drink first." Cameron replied, not expecting to be dragged from bed in order to eat waffles first thing in the morning.

"Oh, here." Skylar said, handing Cameron a black coffee mug.

Cameron brought to mug up to her mouth, but immediately pulled it away. "I was hoping for coffee." She said, not wanting to be drinking that early.

"Oh, sorry. That's mine." Skylar said taking the mug back and handing Cameron a blue mug.

"Now that you have your drink. What kind?" Damien asked, standing at the stove, working on House's waffles.

"I don't know. Pick one. I'm not fussy." Cameron replied.

"Have you learned nothing?" House asked, and Cameron turned and stared at him. "By no means, do you say, 'Pick one' in this family. You have absolutely no idea what you'd get." House scolded.

"Like I said, I'm not fussy." Cameron replied.

"That's another phrase that should never be used here. Last time I heard that, Damien served Ash a vomit milkshake." Skylar said.

Damien began to laugh uncontrollably. "I'd forgotten about that." He said, once he was able to breath properly.

"Well, what flavors do you have?" Cameron asked.

"Name it, and I'll tell you if I have it." Damien replied.

Cameron thought for a moment. "Apple-Cinnamon?" She asked.

Damien glanced across the counter. "Yup. I got fresh ones." He said, looking at the bowl of fresh fruit.

"Oooh. Can I get it with fresh whipped cream and powdered sugar?" Cameron asked like a five year old at a carnival getting her first funnel cake.

"You catch on quickly." He said, turning around with a smirk on his face.

Damien whipped up the waffles for everyone, and they sat and ate, making small talk until they were almost done. Cameron realized they were missing a couple people. "Are Ash and Jason sleeping?" She asked, wondering why they hadn't come out to get waffles. The smell must have spread through the whole place.

"No." Skylar replied, her eyes darting away from her brother. "They're…uh…running a couple errands. They'll be back later."

* * *

The morning had passed by quickly as the group made their way into the theatre to watch the morning cartoons. It was early afternoon before Ash and Jason returned. "All done?" Skylar asked, coming out of the theatre with the others in tow. 

"We missed waffles?" Jason asked.

"You never said he was making waffles. I wouldn't have spent the morning moving—" Ash was cut off when Skylar smacked him in the shoulder. "Ow." He said, but didn't push the subject.

"I hate to say it, but I think we should get going." Cameron said. "I'd like to get home and rest a little before going back to work tomorrow. And I need to feed Peaser."

"Peaser?" Damien asked.

"My cat." Cameron explained.

"And you named it Peaser?" Damien asked, as he heard his brother grumbling under his breath.

"I adopted him from the humane society two weeks ago. He's orange, and was already named. Garfield." Cameron said.

"And that's supposed to explain it?" Damien asked, not following her train of thought.

"Well, it does if you know his full name. Garfield P. Cat." Cameron paused. "So I nicknamed him Peaser."

Damien rolled his eyes at the absurdity of nicknaming a cat.

* * *

"Aren't you going to drop me off at my place?" Cameron asked, as House parked the car outside his place. 

"Yeah, but you have to carry my bags in first. How do you expect a cripple to carry a bag while walking with a cane?"

"Gee, I don't know. With your other hand." Cameron said, but got out of the car just the same. She grabbed his bag, and followed him to the door.

He turned the key and walked in, his grin hidden since Cameron was behind him.

Cameron followed him in, and dropped the bag as soon as she was in the door As she looked around the room, she verbalized the only thought that could form in her mind. "What the?"


	15. Corniest Thing Ever

A/N: okay, so i'm at work, and instead of taking my "lunch" break i decided to pump this little baby out...but since i can't access the internet (email only allowed here), i'm hoping this gets out tonight...i'm sending it to my girlfriend, and hopefully she'll be able to figure out to post it...anyways, this is the end...i'm thoroughly satisfied with how this one turned out...i'm glad so many have enjoyed it...and there might just have to be a sequel...or would it be called a threequel since this is already a sequel? review and let me know...

-Fen

* * *

Cameron stood in amazement, looking around House's living room. "When did--? How'd you--? Who help--?" Cameron couldn't get a full question out of her mouth. Hell, she couldn't even get one to form completely in her head. That was the problem with being totally and utterly shocked. You never know what to say.

"You gonna say something or just stammer for the rest of the day?" House asked. A look of shear enjoyment on his face. He was a man known for always having something up his sleeve, and this moment was like no other. He'd never pulled something like this off.

The first full thought that came to Cameron's mouth, was the first thing to exit her mouth next. "What if I said no?" She asked, turning and looking into his eyes.

House stared back into her eyes. He'd honestly never thought of that. "But you didn't." He replied, flopping down the couch.

Finally able to focus and complete her thoughts, she started her questioning. "When did you do this?" She asked, picking up the picture of her parents that was sitting on top of House's piano.

"I didn't." House replied simply.

"Who did it then?" She asked, moving on to find her own books mingled in with House's on the bookcase. She frowned at the copy of _Men are from Mars, and Women are from Venus_, not recognizing the title as her own.

"Ash and Jason were pretty busy this morning." House replied.

Cameron's eye grew large. "You mean?" She started, but waited for his response.

"Yeah. They got about two hours of sleep, drove here, picked up all your stuff, with Foreman's help, then the three of them moved it all here."

"Just Foreman?" Cameron asked, wondering why Chase hadn't helped.

"Someone had to hold down the fort." House replied, referring to the hospital.

"So they knew about last night?" Cameron asked.

"They knew there was a party. That's it." House replied, flicking the TV on. Cameron started to look around frantically. "What?" House asked.

"Where's Peaser? Please don't tell me they left him at my—" Her voice trailed off as she went into the kitchen. A loud shriek caused House to jump up and follow the noise.

"What?" He asked, coming up behind her. She jammed a note at him before storming off to the bathroom. _Cat's locked under sink in bathroom. I'll send a bill for the scar removal on my arms. –Ash _House laughed. He just couldn't help it. He hadn't understood the grumbling that came from Ash earlier that afternoon, but now it made complete sense.

Cameron came out of the bathroom with an orange furball in her arms. She plopped down on the couch, just as House did. "Peaser, this is—" she paused for a moment. "This is Daddy."

House turned and looked almost shocked at her words, then looked down at the orange ball. With a roll of his eyes, he reached out with one hand. The cat immediately swiped at his hand, but before he could draw it back, the cat had grabbed hold. Within moments, it was curled up on House's lap; purring so loud, House was waiting for the neighbors to yell about the noise.

Reflecting on the events of the previous night, Cameron said, "Your sister must really enjoy flirting with disaster. I mean, she threw _you_ a surprise party. Invited your _parents_. Knew she was conning me with the hidden agenda. Oh, and how can I forget, she invited your ex." She paused. "And she got me to dance in toe socks, panties and my bra. How crazy is that?" She asked.

"You still haven't grasped the idea that my family is screw up?" House questioned. "That's a normal weekend at that house." He finished.

A few moments passed by as they sat watching TV. "Thank you." Cameron said.

"For what?" House asked.

"I'm not saying." She replied. She still couldn't believe he had moved her in over night. And without her consent.

"You can't do that. You can't say 'thank you,' and then say why." House scolded.

"You'll make fun of me." She said, reclaiming her cat.

"No I won't." House said, wondering what he could have done that she would want to thank him, but think he'd insult her. Cameron only raised an eyebrow in return. "I'm not going to make fun of you." House replied, as seriously as he could.

"Thank you for making me the happiest girl alive." She said, unable to believe he would do something so sweet as move her into his place. House's face remained serious, but his noise started to flare, and the corners of his mouth started to flare upwards. "You promised." She said, knowing what was coming next.

"No I didn't." House said, allowing the laughter to escape him. "I've never heard of anything more corny." He said, pulling his phone from his pocket.

"What are you doing?" Cameron asked.

"Calling my sister. You will never live that comment down." House said, pressing the speed dial to his sister.

* * *

"Why are you wearing long sleeves?" Skylar asked Ash.

"That god damn cat!" He yelled, pulling his shirt over his head. Both of his forearms were covered in claw marks. "I wanted to kill it. Jason locked it under the sink." Ash said, somewhat disappointed he couldn't wrap his fingers around its neck and squeeze. Skylar couldn't hold in her laughter. "What? What's so god damn funny?!" Ash yelled.

"You got your ass kicked by a cat!" Skylar said, through her laughter.

"Sky, phone!" Damien yelled from the living room.

"Hello?" Skylar said in the receiver.

"Ever plan a wedding?" A very familiar voice said, over the other end of the phone.


End file.
